A trip in the dark, but we later fail a challenge

Our first full day, and it had to be a traumatically early start as we wanted to see the famous sunrise at Uluru from the recommended vantage point, the Talinguru Nyakunytjaku lookout. Getting there was fun, as it was a 30 minute drive in pitch darkness in an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads. As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge we were warned that herds of feral camels are common in the area. Despite this we arrived safely. At that ungodly hour the place was totally deserted though that was soon to change.

One misconception I had was that the sun would appear from behind the rock, but this isn’t the case at all. The sun rises from the opposite direction, behind us as we face the rock, and gradually lights up its surface. As it gets higher in the sky it creates an ever-changing pattern as it highlights the various features of the Uluru surface. We were a little disappointed at first as the sun was partly covered by cloud, so there was no direct sunlight on the rock. Fortunately after a few minutes the cloud cleared and we enjoyed a really magnificent display of the rock’s constantly changing appearance.

Did I say that the place was almost deserted? Well that changed very quickly as several large tourist buses and a large number of private vehicles had arrived just before the actual sunrise and while we were concentrating on trying to get the perfect photo. We soon realised that the lookout on the top of the sand-dune, the carpark and all the surrounding paths were jam-packed with tourists. (Note: they are tourists and we are travellers).

Back at base, we collected our audio guides from the tourist office and did some basic shopping. After lunch we were ready to set out again, this time on the Mala Walk alongside part of the base of the rock. Nothing too ambitious, or so we thought. By then the day had heated up, the sun was shining brightly and the rock stopped any sort of refreshing breeze. The drive to Mala Walk had taken about 30 minutes and then, full of confidence, we set off. Touted as a 1.5km walk, we thought it would be easy.

It really is quite something to see the Uluru surface up close and to be able to go inside one of its many caves. However, after about 1km we both had to admit that we were pooped, so decided to head back to the car. No regrets whatsoever about going on this walk, as it provided us with a spectacularly unique experience, but we had to admit defeat. The remainder of the afternoon was spent resting up back at the resort.Read more